The subject matter disclosed herein relates to storage tanks and, more specifically, to pressure vacuum relief valves (e.g., vent valves) for storage tanks.
This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
Storage tanks are frequently used to store industrial quantities of a variety of raw and finished materials. These storage tanks may contain liquids, gases, solids, or some combination thereof and are used in a variety of industries. For example, the oil and gas industry frequently uses above ground storage tanks to store refined hydrocarbon products. Additionally, storage tanks are also common in the petrochemical, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, food, and consumer products industries.
As appreciated, the liquids, gases, solids, or combination thereof within the storage tanks may vary in volume, pressure, and so forth. For example, a pressure within a storage tank may vary (e.g., increase and/or decrease) as solids, liquids, gases, or some combination thereof are added to the storage tank, removed from the storage tank, change in composition and/or state within the storage rank, and so forth. Accordingly, storage tanks may include openings designed to accept a venting device, such as a pressure vacuum relief valve or vent valve, which may enable regulation of a pressure inside the storage tank, while also providing a seal between the interior of the storage tank and an environment surrounding the storage tank. The pressure vacuum relief valve may provide a seal that blocks fluid communication between an interior of the storage tank and an exterior of the storage tank (e.g., environment) when an internal pressure within the interior of the storage tank is within a desired range. The pressure vacuum relief valve may also enable fluid communication when an internal pressure within the interior of the storage tank is not within the desired range. Unfortunately, typical pressure vacuum relief valves may have limited flow (e.g., pressure relief flow and/or vacuum relief flow) capacity. For example, a fluid flow path of a typical pressure vacuum relief valve may be tortuous and, therefore, may generate turbulence in the fluid flow, thereby decreasing the flow rate of the fluid flow through the pressure vacuum relief valve. Additionally, typical pressure vacuum relief valves may be susceptible to seal degradation, which can lead to leaks, undesired emissions, and so forth.